India witnessed an extraordinary intellectual and spiritual moment during a widely watched public debate titled “Does God Exist?”, featuring the well-known atheist figure Javed Akhtar and the Sunni Islamic scholar Mufti Shamail Nadwi. What began as a philosophical exchange quickly transformed into a defining event that resonated far beyond the debate hall, reaching millions within days and triggering intense discussion across India and the wider world.
From the outset, the debate revealed a clear contrast between two worldviews. On one side stood a materialist denial of transcendence, rooted in scepticism toward revelation and metaphysics. On the other stood a composed, principled articulation of Islamic belief, grounded in reason, human nature, and revelation. Mufti Shamail Nadwi did not rely on rhetoric or emotion. Instead, he systematically presented the Islamic understanding of God’s existence using arguments accessible to the intellect and deeply familiar to the human soul.
Observers noted that the debate did not descend into theatrics or hostility. Rather, it exposed the fragility of atheistic assumptions when confronted with coherent reasoning and the timeless Islamic conception of God as the Necessary Creator. For many viewers, the discussion clarified doubts that had long remained unresolved. Within days, the recordings spread rapidly, attracting millions of views and igniting conversations across universities, homes, and social spaces throughout India.
The impact went beyond intellectual engagement. Reports from Islamic organisations, mosques, and da’wah circles across India indicated that thousands of individuals came forward in the days following the debate to embrace Islam. Many cited the clarity of the arguments presented and the sense that the Islamic explanation of existence finally aligned with what they had always felt internally but struggled to articulate. The debate became, in effect, a catalyst for a spiritual awakening, described by some commentators as an intellectual earthquake in a society long pressured by aggressive secularism and rising hostility toward Islam.
This outcome was not the result of spectacle, but of truth presented plainly. Islam does not compel belief through force or emotion, but through harmony between reason, revelation, and human nature.
Does God Exist? | Any Evidence?
The strongest evidence for the existence of God is instinctive. It is embedded within the sound human nature that Allah has placed in every person. This inner recognition does not require philosophical training or scientific instruments. It is immediate, intuitive, and universal, unless it is corrupted or suppressed.
Allah says, with the meaning:
“So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. The fitrah of Allah upon which He has created mankind.”
Quran 30:30
Man’s natural disposition testifies to the existence of a Lord and Creator. Every human being senses dependence, limitation, and need. In moments of extreme fear or calamity, even those who deny God instinctively turn their hearts upward, seeking help beyond the material world. This spontaneous return to the Creator is not learned behaviour. It is fitrah.
This was explained by scholars who noted that only when a person is misled by false ideologies does he begin to deny what his nature already knows.
Tangible Evidence of the Existence of God
Beyond instinct, the created universe itself is a clear and continuous sign. Everything we observe exists after not having existed. Trees, mountains, oceans, the heavens, human beings, and life itself demand an explanation.
There are only three possibilities. Either the universe came into existence from nothing, without cause. Or it created itself. Or it was created by a Creator.
The first two possibilities collapse under the slightest scrutiny. Nothing produces nothing, and no entity can create itself before it exists. Once these are rejected, only one conclusion remains: that the universe has a Creator who brought it into existence and sustains it.
Allah states, with the meaning:
“Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they have no certainty.”
Quran 52:35
Every element of creation is dependent. Remove water, and plants wither. Remove balance, and ecosystems collapse. Nothing in existence is self sufficient. All depend on laws, proportions, and sustenance that they did not design.
Allah created every being suited for its purpose. Camels were created with strength and endurance to traverse harsh lands. Other creatures are designed precisely for their roles. This harmony is neither random nor accidental.
Allah says, with the meaning:
“Do they not see that We have created for them from what Our Hands have created livestock, and they are their owners. And We have subdued them for them, so some of them they ride, and some they eat.”
Quran 36:71–72
Such precision, balance, and purpose point unmistakably to intention, knowledge, and power.
Another tangible sign appears when people call upon Allah in times of distress and receive relief. Supplication answered is not coincidence. It is recognition of the One who hears and responds.
A Moment of Clarity
The debate in India did not invent these truths. It merely removed the noise surrounding them. When Islam is presented without distortion, hostility, or apology, its coherence becomes evident. The widespread response to this debate reaffirmed a reality known throughout history: when truth is articulated clearly, hearts respond.
What unfolded was not merely a debate outcome. It was a reminder that faith rooted in reason and fitrah cannot be eclipsed by denial. Islam did not need reinvention. It only needed to be heard.
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